A New Year’s Resolution
As moments roll into minutes, and minutes into hours and days, gradually, our years pass away, punctuated by annual resolutions. The focus of our resolutions align to our natural inclinations and needs from childhood, adolescence, and youth, and finally, when old age peeps through our gray hairs, we wonder; what did I gather, what did I resolve to do, and what did I achieve and contribute through this lifetime?
Every stage of life has its own desires. They may be a colorful toys in childhood, a speedy motorbike in adolescence, or a beautiful wealthy partner in our youth. But unfortunately after achieving anything we set out to, we soon we get bored, and need another target in life to keep us engaged. So the real question is – are our resolutions driven by the attainment of our desires or a desire to evolve as a human being? The marathon of life goes on, one leg at a time. And many believe that it doesn’t even come to a halt with our death, because to fulfill our unfulfilled desires, we reappear in physical form in this world, till we taste the freedom of desireless-ness.
So for a change, we may experiment with a new resolution in this upcoming New Year. And that resolution should be, not to run after anything. Just to be relaxed, but attentive, not to be angry, not to worry, and not to get agitated at all by any situation, however provocative it may be.
Though such a resolution could be rejected by many as not a resolution, it is perhaps the most difficult resolution of all. To achieve a state in which the experience of being alive as a conscious human being is not punctuated by objective achievement, is one that can be very interesting and adventurous. It is a way to know ourselves and this world as we are.
Every moment creeps in our life silently to give a new message, to sing a new song. But mostly not being relaxed and attentive, we miss to hear that tune. The tune which emerges from the eternal flow of life sings the song of life’s impermanence. That song inspires and teaches us to be dispassionate, to loosen our attachment, and tells us that, we own nothing in this world. On the other hand each and every blow of life gives us signal to be alert and attentive in each moment, to treat every relationship, every soul with sincere love and dignity, who ever touches our life. We can really respect and value each life, only when we are aware of life’s impermanence. But mostly being unaware of life’s truth, we take life for granted, and for personal gratification of our desires, we use our relationship with human beings, animals and plants in not a very dignified way. As a result, life becomes stressful for us and for our dear ones also.
Life is an ongoing process of learning. If we train our mind to be relaxed, attentive, and observant, then from each and every moment, and from every life event, we get an opportunity to learn something about ourselves. Just through the observation of our reaction towards outside stimuli, we can gain insight into ourselves and lead to self-empowerment.
When we are self-empowered, our mind becomes unprejudiced and devoid of any preconceived notions. We are able to see things as they really are, and think and act calmly to any situation without a pre-defined tendency to act in accustomed ways. To be cheerful, happy, and connected to experiences that the present moment brings, is our natural state. It doesn’t require an accomplishment or a difficult task to achieve it but a vigilance mindset against falling into prejudice so we don’t allow any situation to pull us down and rob us of a state of engaged joyfulness that is our birthright.
Only through the constant practice of mediation, can we learn to stay cheerful and above conflict – with the external world as well as ourselves. And to remain, attentive and aware is a task of utmost importance. Through mindfulness, we can turn each moment into an insight. The cosmic energy drawn through our silent meditation, when applied to daily action transforms the mundane into something holy and beautiful. And that leads to selfless service, which in turn makes us free from karmic bondage.
So in this New Year, our resolution could be to draw upon our inner strength and nurture it through the active practice of silence. Silence unfolds the full value of each moment, and in doing so, we find compassion and the desire to be helpful to each other. Such a resolution has the power to make life joyful not just for us but for all sentient beings. In this way, we may leave our permanent footprint in this impermanent world.
Edited by Prodeep Bose
